College Days
by Izabella
Summary: Same ol' story, different time and setting. (P&P)
1. Default Chapter

A/N - I know these modern day versions have been beaten to death on here, but I couldn't help myself. I will try to make it somewhat unique, though. Please r/r - be constructive, or, if I really deserve it, destructive ;) Enjoy!

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Elizabeth Bennet was sprawled out on the grass beneath a large oak tree, hungrily flipping through the pages of _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_. This was her Friday afternoon treat. As an ambitious student at the College of William and Mary, she didn't usually have time for anything but her studies. Sure, on weekend nights she'd go to the occasional party with her chums, and get occasionally trashed. But Friday afternoons were set aside for herself. And this week, Harry Potter was the desire of her heart. It was a refreshing change of pace from the dreary, nihilistic novels she'd been lately reading for her Modern British lit class. 

But she was disrupted from her peaceful reverie as a football came whizzing out of nowhere and smacked her in the face. She sat up, rubbing her forehead, and found herself staring into a pair of deep blue eyes…

"God, I am so sorry. My friend over there is a total idiot. I'll stab him later. Do you need some ice? If you want, you can throw it back at him as hard as you want. I'll make sure he stands still so you have a better shot at knocking off his dull head. In fact you could even throw a rock. There's a nice big sharp one right by your foot. An eye for an eye, you know…"

Elizabeth couldn't help laughing at this. She recognized the boy from her Religion of Ancient Israel class. She looked up at the other boy who had thrown the ball at her, surprised to see that he was Will Darcy, president of the student assembly. He was talking on his cell phone, apparently without any intention of apologizing.

"No, the rock won't be necessary," she replied. "I'd probably miss and break a window. However, if you happened to have a large baseball bat, or perhaps a shotgun…"

The boy laughed. "You're Elizabeth, right? I recognize you from class."

"Lizzy. And I'm so sorry, but I can't quite remember your name. I'm terrible with names, so don't take it personally. But I do recognize you. Ancient Israel, right?"

"Yep. Charles Bingley. Don't worry about it. The football may have damaged your memory."

"That must be it," she said dryly.

"I see you're reading Harry Potter. Quality stuff. You're only on the third one?"

"Actually, I'm rereading all of them."

"Excellent. Look, what are you doing tonight? I feel like I should buy you dinner or something to make up for nearly crushing your skull."

"Ha. Don't worry about it. Plus, you weren't even the one that threw it."

"That's true. I can't imagine what's gotten into that dude," he said, scowling at Will. "He's usually less of an ass than this. But it must be an important call. Maybe his aunt. Anyway, so, was that a no for dinner?"

"Yeah – I wish I could, but my sister's coming down for the weekend."

"That's cool. Well, if you two can't find anything better to do, you're welcome to come around to the House later for a few drinks, modest dancing, and full out sex, if you're lucky. Delta Phi."

"That sounds fun," said Lizzy, laughing. "I'll ask my sister."

"Cool. Well I gotta go. Have fun with Harry, and hopefully I'll see you tonight!"

He sauntered off to join his friend. Lizzy couldn't deny that he was terribly cute and extremely friendly, but, she thought with mild regret, she really wasn't attracted to him. She was glad Jane was coming that weekend; it had given her the perfect excuse for not going to dinner with him.

* * *

When Jane arrived, it was instantly apparent to her perceptive sister that something was wrong. Lizzy figured it had to do with her boyfriend – the latest in a series of worthless men Jane had fallen for.

"I just don't understand it, Liz," Jane sobbed. "He was so nice at first. Sent me roses for no reason at all – of course Kitty accidentally sat on them – and he bought me the nicest earrings for my birthday. Things were going along splendidly. At least I thought so."

"But…"

"But then I thought I'd pop in and see him for a bit before I drove down here today."

"Uh oh," said Lizzy.

"And…I walked in on him having – " she stopped for a second, unable to continue. Her chest heaved violently. Elizabeth put her arms around her and kissed her cheek affectionately.

"It's gonna be okay, Janie," she whispered. "You know it will be. And you'll always have your Liz."

Jane took a deep breath and continued. "He was having sex with Lauren Bludger."

"Oh, honey," cried Lizzy, sympathetic tears streaming down her face. "I'm so, so sorry. God, If I ever see him again…he better hope I don't."

"Calm down, Lizzy."

"No, I will not calm down. What is _wrong_ with everyone?" she said furiously. "You don't do that kind of thing to my Jane and just walk away. God. And _Lauren Bludger_? Jesus Christ. You don't go screwing crackpot Lauren Bludger, a walking std, when you have Jane Bennet as a girlfriend. You just don't. That girl is filthy. Didn't she just have her second baby a few months ago? And she's how old, 19?"

"She's had a hard life, Lizzy. Her father walked out on them when she was younger."

"Whatever."

"Anyway," said Jane, who had grown much calmer after pouring her soul out to Lizzy, "I should have seen the signs. He would always get unreasonably angry when I asked him questions about what he'd been up to lately. You know what the funniest part about the whole thing is, though?"

"What?"

"He wasn't even sorry that I caught him. He didn't apologize once. He was just angry. Angry that I came over without calling. As If I were in the wrong."

Lizzy shook her head and squeezed Jane's hand, wiping the tears off her face with a tissue.

"Lizzy, I know what you're thinking," said Jane, noticing the worried expression on her sister's face. "I'm going to be fine. I didn't even like him all that much after the beginning, to tell you the truth. I guess I was just afraid it would break his heart if I dumped him. I didn't want to do that to him."

"Jane, you are too good."

Jane sighed. "Well, what's the plan? I don't want to sit inside and cry all night. This is my one weekend of escape," she said, alluding to the chaotic, sweltering environment she normally lived in: the Bennet household.

"We have several options, each wildly exciting, as you know Williamsburg always is. A local band is playing at Aromas, the Vietnamese Student Association is having some kind of cultural dance event, umm, we could go see a movie. Oh, and some boy invited us to a frat party, but you're probably not up for that."

"Actually," said Jane thoughtfully, "that might be just the thing. Get me good and liquored up so I can forget my woes."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure that's the healthiest move, Janie, but we can go if you want."


	2. The Partay

**A/N: If a character in any way shape or form resembles one of Austen's, then it is. I've got the next couple chapters completed, but I'm wary of posting them because I don't have the entire plot worked out yet and I'm afraid I might have to massively edit them later on. But I should have it figured out before long, and have them posted. Within the next few days. Also, someone said they wanted me to finish my HP fanfic...Harry the Muggle, was it? I've been wanting to finish that, but I'm too busy right now to get involved in more than one fanfic at a time. But the semester ends in about a month, so after that hopefully I will be able to work on it some. Same with the Anne fanfic. Thanks for all the reviews...keep 'em coming, good or bad, I just want to know people are actually reading this! Sorry this is such a long note...I'm going to shut up now.

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When they entered the House, Charles and Will were there to greet them.

"Lizzy! You actually decided to grace us with your presence – Good God," he exclaimed under his breath, gripping Will's arm suddenly. He had just noticed Jane, whose eyes shone radiantly with the glow that comes after a good cry. She was wearing a thin blue dress that revealed, tastefully, all her feminine curves. Her cheeks flushed under his intense stare. Lizzy observed all this and decided to rescue them from the awkward pause.

"Charles, this is my older sister Jane. Jane, this is Charles Bingley. He and his friend over there tried to kill me this afternoon."

Jane smiled shyly. Will, standing slightly off to the side, looked at Elizabeth with vague interest, trying to place her. Ah, yes, the football girl. He was mildly amused by her sportive way of talking, but in general disapproved of her style. She was wearing a plain white tank top, a flowy brown skirt that fell just below her knees, and flip flops. She had attempted to pin her dark brown hair back with a clip, but several wavy strands of it had escaped and were hanging sloppily around her face. She was also quite thin; yes, she must work out a great deal. He reminded himself that he generally preferred the curvier girls, like that tall blonde standing beside her…Jane, was it?

"It's so nice to meet you!" Charles cried, beaming at Jane. "Where are you from? You must be so tired; it must have been such a long drive! Come sit down right here, and I will bring you a drink. What do you want? We have everything. A cosmopolitan?"

Jane laughed. "I'm fine, really. I live in Richmond – only an hour away. It's not so bad."

"Not so bad! An hour away! And you must have driven during rush hour, too. Please sit down. I will be back in two seconds. If I'm not, you can punch me." He dashed away to the bar, and returned in about ten seconds with a tall glass, which he promptly handed to Jane, who did not punch him.

"How is it? Not too strong, I hope. Or would you rather it be strong? I can add more vodka. Here, give it to me; I'm going to add some more vodka."

"No! I like it like this. How did you know cosmopolitans were my favorite drink?"

"I've read your book, Jane. Now, tell me, do you go to school in Richmond, or what?"

"I'm taking some classes at a community college by my house. But I spend most of my time waiting tables. If I can save up enough money, I'd like to transfer here in the fall, actually. Our family isn't extremely well off, you know. Lizzy got a full ride due to being ridiculously smart. Anyway, I'd like to go to the school of education, if they'll let me in."

"If! Jane, I'll see that they do."

Jane blushed, and as the night wore on, all thoughts of her cheating boyfriend slipped out of her head, and she found herself, willingly or no, literally taken off her feet by this amiable Charles Bingley.

* * *

Lizzy, meanwhile, was engaged in a lively debate with her roommate Charlotte, who had just shown up, about whether or not Mary Crawford in Jane Austen's _Mansfield Park_ secretly tended toward lesbianism. Charlotte was sure she did. 

"Char, have you even read the book, or are you basing this all off the movie?" Lizzy asked, taking a large gulp of beer.

"Just because you're the English major, it doesn't mean you're the only one that ever read a book, Elizabeth," Charlotte replied rather snippily.

"Well, that's shocking. Still, I just don't see it. You're reading way too much into it. You have to remember that back then, women overall were much more physically intimate with each other than they are now."

"Truly one of the most unfortunate aspects of modern society," remarked Will Darcy, who had just joined them.

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Come to throw another object at my head, I suppose?"

"Not unless it gets in the way of the bar. Your head, that is," he said with a smile. But looking closely at him, it did not appear to Lizzy that he had been drinking at all. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to…"

He was cut off as a tall, preppy sorority girl with bleached blonde hair and a designer sundress stumbled over and wrapped her arms around him. "Will," she hiccupped, "I've been looking _everywhere_ for you! Who are _they_?" she asked disdainfully, looking at Lizzy and Charlotte.

"They are sophomores Elizabeth Bennet and her roommate…I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name," Will said to Charlotte.

"You didn't quite ask for it," Elizabeth cut in.

"It's Charlotte," said Charlotte, flashing Lizzy an angry look. Lizzy shrugged.

"Ah, yes. Charlotte. And this is Caroline Bingley. Bing's little sister. You know Bing, right?" Will turned to look at Charles, noting with surprise how affectionately he was dancing with that tall blonde girl – the hot sister of Lizzy's.

"I know Charles, if that's who you mean," said Lizzy. "He was very helpful earlier today in the Sunken Gardens, after you tried to murder me – "

"Ughhh…" said Caroline suddenly, "I'm so bored. Will, come dance with me honey. _What?_ You aren't actually going to stand here talking to these people all night, are you?"

"Actually, Caroline, I was going to – "

But she dragged him away without giving him a chance to say what he was going to do. Lizzy thought he had been about to ask her to dance, and though a small part of her was flattered that she had been able, perhaps, to attract Will Darcy – the most known person on campus – she told herself she would not under any circumstances have said yes. The fact that he had still failed to apologize for maiming her this afternoon was insufferable.


	3. Lovely Lydia

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, as always; keep 'em coming.** ** Also, there is some language in this section, so sorry if that offends you. Enjoy!

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She was interrupted from her thoughts as a short, extremely skanky looking girl stumbled over to her, and promptly puked all over her bare feet.

"Oh my God! _Lydia! _What are you doing here? Does Dad know you went out? _Ugh!_"

"Lizzy, stop being such a slut and come help me. Ha ha. I'm going to be sick again!"

Lizzy grabbed her youngest sister's hand and dragged her out of the house. The second they were outside, Lydia began puking again, and Lizzy found a hose and sprayed the vomit off her feet.

"How did you get here?" Lizzy asked angrily as soon as Lydia had stopped throwing up.

"Lord, what a nervous wreck you are, Liz!" she hiccupped. "Well, you can stop staring me down with those dark flashy eyes of yours. I'll tell you all in a bit, just give me half a second – say, could I have the rest of your beer? My mouth tastes like shit."

"Here," said Lizzy, holding it out to her. But as soon as Lydia grabbed for it, Lizzy tipped the cup over, spilling the contents onto the grass.

"You bitch! God. Oh, I'm sorry Lizzy, I didn't actually mean it, you know. I'm not even that drunk, honest, I just can't drink like I used to since I got so sick last month. Ha ha, would you look at those trees! They're spinning in circles. What a joke! Fine, so you want to know how we got here, well, how do you think? Kitty drove, like the typical whore she is. Lizzy, you aren't my mother, so stop looking at me that way. I'm fifteen years old, okay? I can do what I want. Mom knows we're here, and it's not as if Dad would care – you know he wouldn't, so would you just effing calm down? Ha ha, I said 'effing.'"

"Lydia, exactly, you're _fifteen_! You won't even be legal for another three years. This is a college party. Do you know anything about frat boys?"

"Mmm…"

"God. Well, how are you getting back? Is Kitty drinking?"

"Hell if I know. It's not as if I was going to stand around with _her_ all night. But she probably is. We're spending the night; that was the agreement. The hottest boy – George, I think was his name – he has _the_ cutest butt – said I could crash in his room. Lizzy! What is your problem?"

"You will do no such thing. You can stay in my room with Kitty on the futon. Jane can share my bed."

Lydia stomped her foot on the ground like an upset child who didn't get dessert, and was about to run off, when suddenly she passed out. Luckily, Will Darcy had just come outside with Caroline, and was able to catch her before her head hit the ground. Lizzy, thankful it was dark, blushed deeply, as she imagined the foul stench of sweat, beer, and puke, that Will must be breathing in at that moment. She went over and helped him place her on a nearby bench.

"Thanks so much, Will," she said sincerely.

"It's no problem," he said, wiping his hands on his shirt, presumably to rid them of Lydia's filth. "Is she your friend or what? She looks a little young…"

"My little sister Lydia," said Lizzy shamefully.

But as soon as she said it, she felt a surge of prideful anger. Who was he to make her feel embarrassed of her own relations? The president of the student assembly? Psh! The only reason he got the position was because his Aunt practically controlled the school with her hefty alumni donations.

"You can get back to your girlfriend now," said Lizzy coldly, indicating Caroline, who was sitting on a bench nearby, groaning. "We'll manage just fine on our own."

"Right. Actually, she's not my girlfriend. Look, the reason I came out here was because I did want to apologize for the incident earlier today. However, I think you should know, if your head hadn't gotten in the way, it would have been a truly incredible throw. Over seventy yards, I'd say."

"What! You are full of it. You were standing thirty yards away from me, and not an inch farther. And the ball would have hit the ground in another yard or two if my head hadn't had the audacity to get in its way. I'm sure of it."

Will looked somewhat taken aback by this feisty young woman. If he had said such a thing to Caroline Bingley, she would have oohed and ahhhed over it for hours, commending him for his incredible athletic ability. He wasn't going to take this kind of treatment.

"No offense," he said, "but I think I'd have a better clue as to what constituted seventy yards than you would."

"Why is that?"

"I'm a guy. I watch a lot of football…"

"Oh, that's right. I forgot football fans were the only people on the planet blessed with the ability of ascertaining distances," she spat.

"Are you this hostile toward everyone, Lizzy, or am I just lucky tonight?"

Lizzy suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Perhaps she had been unnecessarily belligerent. So what if he was exaggerating about the seventy yard throw? In fact, she admitted to herself, it was remotely possible that he was right. She _had_ been rather disoriented for awhile after being hit in the head.

"I think you must be lucky," she said, looking up at him.

Will smiled, and for some reason Lizzy found her eyes faltering. She began nervously twisting a strand of hair. Will suddenly felt an almost overpowering urge to take that strand and gently smooth it behind her ear. But he restrained himself.

Just then Lydia coughed, hiccupped, and proceeded to rid her stomach of any particles that still remained in it. Lizzy was surprised to see that she was crying. With instinctive sisterly affection, she put her arm around the girl and stroked her hair. Will observed the two of them quietly.

"You okay, Liddy?"

"Why do I always do this, Liz?" she sobbed.

"I don't know, honey, but you can always stop, you know. You don't have to do it."

"I do have to, Liz. It's too late. Oh Liz…" she rested her head on Lizzy's shoulder.

Though the girls had grown apart in the last few years, Lizzy had not forgotten the bond they shared in their childhood. No one could help themselves from loving little Lydia Bennet – the baby of the family – with her silly jokes and her constant cheerfulness. And Lydia had always loved Lizzy the most, back in those days, though she couldn't say quite why. Maybe it had something to do with the sparkle in Lizzy's eyes as she'd concoct a ridiculous fairy tale at night, while tucking the little girls into bed.

But it was different now. A frivolous, nervous mother and an apathetic, jaded father, combined with relative poverty, had not been a strong enough match against Lydia's growing vivacity, and so the happy little girl had evolved into a reckless, pleasure seeking teenager. Lizzy considered all this with no small guilt on her own part. If she had paid more attention to Lydia in those later years, perhaps she would have grown so wild. But Lizzy had been undergoing her own metamorphosis, which was prompted most strongly by an overwhelming desire to escape from her home, and thus had not the patience or perception to interfere with Lydia.

At this moment, though, with Lydia curled up against her like a little girl, the only thought in Lizzy's head was how to help her, how to comfort her.

"Will," she said suddenly, "I'm going to take my sister home now. Thanks for your help."

Will had been standing off to the side somewhat awkwardly for the last few minutes. He wasn't sure exactly what the right thing to do would be. Part of him wanted to go back into the party…why shouldn't he, anyway? He barely knew Elizabeth Bennet, and had no great desire to know her sister. But something had made him stay. Perhaps, subconsciously, he saw something of his own sister in the girl.

"Let me walk you guys home," he said.

"What? Oh, no, really, we'll be fine. I don't live that far. Landrum, you know."

"Still, I'm going to walk with you. You have to cut through that dark woody path to get to Landrum. There's no use arguing about it, Lizzy," he said firmly. "After all, clearly you aren't even safe in an open space like the Sunken Gardens in the middle of the day anymore, right?"

"Very funny," said Lizzy. "But what about…what's her name?" she asked, indicating Caroline Bingley, who was still sitting on the swing outside the house, muttering to herself.

"She'll be alright. Bing knows she's out here."

And with that the three set off, Lydia in the middle, Lizzy and Darcy on either side of her, both holding one of her arms to support her. When they got into her dorm, Lizzy helped her sister onto the futon and pulled the covers over her.

"Now, Liddy, if you feel like you're going to be sick and you can't make it to the bathroom, I've put the trash can right beside you. So try not to puke all over the futon. Also, there's a large cup of water on the table by your head. Will you be alright alone, or do you want me to stay with you?"

But Lydia had already dozed off. So Lizzy and Will left the room, carefully locking the door behind them, and headed back to the party.


	4. A Little Midnight Jig

**A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. I'd written the next few chapters actually, but I didn't really like them, so I deleted them all and started over again with this one. Plus I've been super busy with school/finals/etc. But I'll be done with all that in a few days, and will have the whole summer to devote to my beloved fanfics! Heh...maybe not, but updates should be more regular at any rate after that. So, as usual, please r&r! Be brutally honest! If you think this is the worst pile of crap you ever had the misfortune to look at, tell me!

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They started off somewhat awkwardly. Will wasn't a great talker in the first place, and for some reason Lizzy's ability to make small talk had abandoned her. At last she thought of something.

"So, you must be graduating pretty soon, right?" she asked him. He nodded his head.

"Okay," she thought, "graduation is a pretty big thing; you must have something to say about it. Help me out here, Darcy."

But no help was given. He walked on silently, looking at the ground.

"Right, well, graduation! That's exciting, isn't it?"

He supposed it was.

"So what are your plans? Grad school or work?"

"Law school, actually. If any of them accept me."

Lizzy was glad it was dark so Will couldn't see her rolling her eyes. _If _any of them accept him? What a joke. It was commonly known that Will Darcy was at the top of his class. And even if his grades hadn't been impeccable, his wealthy Aunt could probably buy him into any university in the world. Feeling suddenly somewhat bitter towards this young man who had the whole world at his feet, while she had to work two jobs and virtually starve herself in order to even stay at school from one semester to the next, she decided stubbornly to let him have a turn rescuing them from the awkward silence.

They were just about to cross over the Sunken Gardens – scene of the crime, Lizzy thought to herself – when they noticed a disorganized sort of reggae band playing at the far end, while about a dozen or so students danced around beside them. Watching them in the moonlight, Lizzy thought they looked like a band of gypsies. She had a sudden urge to join them. If she had been with Jane or Charlotte, she'd have dragged them over there instantly, but, she thought with a sigh, there was little hope that the event would attract President William Darcy.

"So what if it doesn't?" she thought to herself suddenly. "Why do I have to stay with him, anyway? He certainly doesn't seem to be enjoying _my_ company, based on his extreme unwillingness to utter any words over a monosyllable. Hmm. I think I will…"

"Will, I think I'm going to hop over there and join those people. I have a sudden urge to dance."

Will eyed the "gypsies" curiously, as if they were a rare species of Martians.

"Why don't we just go back to the party? You can dance there all you like," he said.

But she had made up her mind. "No thanks – on a night like this I'd much rather be outside than pressed up against hundred sweaty, groping frat boys. You go ahead back though; I'll be fine."

Before he could protest, she ran off through the dewy grass toward the band. Will thought he should probably get back to the House, but he couldn't muster up the will power to do it. There was something about that Lizzy girl, he thought to himself, watching her as she joined the group of students. He could hear the ripples of her laughter as one of the gypsy boys grabbed her hand and twirled her around, and then dipped her so low the tips of her hair touched the grass.

Standing there on the steps of the Sunken Gardens, he was suddenly powerfully drawn to her. He felt a strange fire burning inside of him, but it was different, how utterly different, than the little butterflies he'd felt in his stomach during any of his former crushes; how pathetically those attractions wallowed in comparison with the feeling he experienced now, watching Elizabeth Bennet twirling around in the wet grass as if she hadn't a care in the world.

It couldn't be helped. Before he knew what had happened, he was down there beside her, asking her to dance, his stomach flip flopping as she looked up at him curiously, her lips stretching into a slow, enchanting smile. He put his arms around her, resting one hand on the curve of her waste, and holding her hand out with the other, and they began swaying back and forth to the strumming of the guitar. They didn't speak, but the awkwardness had passed.

A few minutes later they were joined by a small crowd of relatively drunken students, including Caroline Bingley, who ever so elegantly swooped down upon Will and whisked him away from Lizzy. Lizzy was not the type of girl to get worked up over such a thing, so she smiled archly and gladly took the hand of a boy she'd never seen before, an alarmingly attractive boy too, she thought.

"And who might I be having the extremely good fortune to be dancing with tonight?" he asked her, with a slight southern drawl.

"Lizzy," she said, smiling. "Who are you?"

"George Wickham, at your service."

The two chattered and flirted aimlessly. Lizzy was having a great deal of fun. This George Wickham sure knew how to grind, but then, she thought, in a way she still preferred the slow, swaying style of Will Darcy. This was more fun, and, she thought with mild surprise as George slid his hand down the curve of her back, rather more intimate. Still, something made her decide to go back to Will for a bit anyway. She gently released herself from George and walked over to Will, who was sitting on the stairs of the Sunken Gardens with a sour expression.

"Want to dance?" she asked him.

"_Really_?" he said sarcastically. She looked at him blankly. He shook his head, rolling his eyes a bit, and strode off.

Lizzy was rather bewildered by it. What could she have done to piss him off like that? Just then, Caroline Bingley, who had been watching the encounter, walked over to Lizzy.

"Don't take it personally, honey," she said with a glossy smile. "Will never stays with any one girl for more than a few hours. And really, no offense, but considering your apparel, and who your friends are…I mean it's surprising he stayed with you for as long as he did! He is after all _Will Darcy_. And you're not even a Sister! Oh, Will, he's just _so_ fickle!"

Lizzy, though she would rather have died than admit it, felt a sharp pang in her gut. But she laughed it off.

"That must explain why he's always running away from you, then," she said with a sweet smile, and then ran off in the direction of the Delta Phi house to find her sisters.


	5. The Truth Comes Out

**A/N: Umm...don't really have anything to say, but I do love rambling anyway. Oh yeah, thanks for the reviews, those of you that have been kind enough to leave them. Bla bla bla. Yeah. LEAVE ME REVIEWS! IT'S WHAT INSPIRES ME TO KEEP GOING! Thank you.

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The next afternoon the four sisters – Jane, Lizzy, Kitty, and Lydia – sat outside on the terrace enjoying a late brunch.

"Are you sure you should be eating all that, Lydia?" said Jane, eyeing the massive mound of eggs and corned beef hash piled onto Lydia's plate. "You were pretty sick last night…"

"Lucky I don't remember it then! Ha ha. Yes, Jane, I'm _sure_. Though I wouldn't entirely mind if I did happen to puke it all up. Would save me a lot of calories, wouldn't it!"

Kitty laughed, but Jane raised her eyebrows with mild alarm. She was about to launch into a lecture about the dangers of eating disorders, but Lizzy interrupted.

"So, Jane, I have to say, I was a little surprised to find you back at the dorm so early last night. And all alone!"

"Why would that surprise you, Lizzy?" said Jane, turning light pink.

"Jane, how do you always manage to look so much _prettier_ when you blush? I'm sure when I do it I look like a speckled tomato, but somehow it makes you even more delicious. It's really not fair."

Jane _was_ beginning to look rather like a speckled tomato by this point, as the three other girls burst out laughing.

"Well," said Lydia after a moment, "you might as well come out with it right now. No use hiding anything from _us_. Obviously there's some boy involved. Who is he?"

"Is he hot?" asked Kitty.

"Of course he's hot, you retard, it's effing _Jane_ we're talking about here. Do you think she'd have an ugly boyfriend, seeing as she could pass for a movie star herself?" Lydia asked.

"I swear to God, if you call me a retard one more time I am going to smack you. It's so lame, honestly, I know you're only fifteen, but still you'd think you could really come up with something _slightly_ better."

"Ok, let me try. Hmmm. Got it! Fat-ass bitchwhore. How's that?"

"What_ever_."

But a moment later the girls were leaning together whispering excitedly as some boy they had danced with at the party last night walked by.

"Um, we're gonna go home now, see you guys later! Mwah!"

And with that, Lydia and Kitty ran off in the direction of the boy, while Jane futilely called out to them, begging them to drive safely. Lizzy was not overly sorry to see them go, as she was dying to hear about Jane's night with Charles. In a moment it was all out. They had danced together all night, he had been _so_ nice, such a gentleman, especially compared to – but she wasn't going to mention _him_ – he had walked her back to Lizzy's dorm before it got too late, kissed her on the cheek, and that was it.

"That's it?" Lizzy asked.

"Why do you sound so surprised? It's not as if I'm the type of girl that would go home with a boy the night I met him!"

"Well I know _you_ aren't that type of person, but Charles is a frat boy, and he's best friends with that odious Will Darcy… I'm just surprised he turned out to be as nice as he seemed. That usually doesn't happen. Although I guess he could still turn out to be an ass."

"I don't think so," said the ever optimistic Jane. "And what's so bad about Will Darcy? He seemed nice enough at the party."

Lizzy laughingly related the story of the gypsy dance to Jane.

"That's so strange!" Jane said. "I wonder if there could be another reason why he left so abruptly. There must be. No one is _that _fickle. Not that I think Caroline Bingley would lie…"

Lizzy shrugged. "Whatever, I'm just sorry I wasted ten minutes of my life dancing with him. Let's not waste anymore time _talking_ about the pathetic creature."

* * *

But Lizzy was not so reluctant to talk about Will Darcy with Charles later that week. Now that they knew each other, they had begun sitting together during their Religion of Ancient Israel class. Though Charles did genuinely like Lizzy, it must be confessed that he might have had one or two slightly ulterior motives in befriending her so hastily. Lizzy, of course, was fully aware of this, but for Jane's sake she was determined to be friendly towards him, and after a short time, found herself liking him very well for his own sake. Indeed, no one who met Charles Bingley could really help liking him.

"So, you and Will sure seemed to hit it off at the party last weekend. And I was sure you'd hate him forever after the incident with the football!"

Lizzy knew better than to bash the best friend of the person she was talking to. So, she replied nonchalantly, "Who told you we were hitting it off?"

"I can't remember the specific people; you know what a scatterbrain I am. But rumors are circulating that you danced with him for half the night at the reggae show. Although my sister Caroline said it was more like five minutes – but she never believes any rumors about Will, unless they have something to do with him being in love with her."

"Well, I think in this case she was right. It was probably five minutes – ten at the most. I'm really not the sort of girl to waste the night dancing with only one person."

"Ah, I see. Anyway, how's your sister?"

* * *

Later that day, George Wickham came to visit Lizzy during her break at the Daily Grind – the campus coffee shop where she spent far too much of her time making far too little money. He brought her a single red rose. 

Lizzy had become very tight with George Wickham since the night of the party. They weren't exactly dating – it was commonly known that George Wickham wasn't the type of boy to tie himself down with any _one_ girl – but they were having a fun time of it anyway. And Lizzy, who had been through several crappy relationships since she came to college, told herself she was relieved that George wasn't looking for anything serious. She certainly wasn't in the mood for commitment – after all, this was college – you're supposed to have fun in college, not tie yourself down with one person all the time.

She took the rose with a laugh, as they sat down at a table outside the Grind, asking him what the occasion was.

"Do I really need an occasion to give the most beautiful girl alive a single rose?"

"I suppose not. I'll have it delivered to my sister Jane straight away when I get off work."

Wickham laughed and leaned over in an attempt to kiss her. Lizzy playfully ducked, so he ended up with a mouthful of thick brown hair.

"Really, Wickham (for she had taken to calling him Wickham like everyone else on campus), you know how I feel about public display of affection. Just because you got me a rose you can't expect me to – "

But he cut her off by grabbing her and forcing her into a kiss, to which she submitted, laughingly, without much resistance. At that moment Will Darcy happened to walk by. He recognized the sound of Lizzy's laughter and turned around to see her playfully, though not very intently, trying to release herself from Wickham's embrace, while he planted kisses all over her face.

"Can't expect you to what?" Wickham asked her between kisses.

But Lizzy, who was suddenly aware that someone was standing nearby, this time removed herself from him successfully, and turned around to meet the cold gaze of Will Darcy. She was surprised to see that Wickham was smirking.

"Will, old boy, how's it going?" he said, and if Lizzy had not been so smitten by him, she might have detected a faint hint of embarrassment in the tone of his voice.

Will clenched his jaw and turned very pale, but after a moment, inhaling deeply, he seemed to relax. He nodded slightly in their direction and continued walking. Lizzy looked at Wickham, expecting an explanation. He laughed nervously and then, quickly recovering himself, began relating to her with great animation the various hardships Will Darcy had inflicted upon him.

He had lived in Savannah, Georgia with his mother until she died when he was ten years old, at which point he had been adopted by his step-uncle Darcy, who lived on Long Island, where all the Darcy's were brewed. Wickham's mother had been briefly married to William Darcy Sr.'s younger brother, a marriage which had come to a sudden halt when she became pregnant with a child that was not his. Unfortunately, Wickham's true father had also died shortly after Wickham's birth, leaving him with no other relatives except his mother. So when she died, all he had were the Darcy's.

"Oh my God," Lizzy cut in, "that's so terrible! What a hard life you have had. I had no idea."

Wickham nodded solemnly.

"It wasn't so bad, though. The Darcy's were very kind to me, even Will. We were actually best friends," he said, with a bitter laugh.

"What happened?" Lizzy asked incredulously.

"Will's parents both died in a car accident the year before we went away to college. It was a really hard time for me…I'd always thought of William Darcy as my dad, and he treated me like a son. I imagine Will must have felt it too, but you wouldn't have known by the way he acted. He completely changed, almost overnight – started acting all self-important, like he thought he was better than everyone – myself included – because he was a Darcy. I guess he was better in a way – after all, he has money, and money's what makes the world go 'round, right?

"Anyway, we both applied to William & Mary. That's where all the Darcy's have gone – they can actually trace the lineage back to the 17th century. I know, too much damn time on their hands, right? Who would actually care about such a stupid thing? They even claim that one of the Darcy ancestors was a peer of Thomas Jefferson.

"Well, I wasn't the most studious person, and I know the only reason I got accepted was because of my connection with the Darcy's. But Will seemed to resent that. I'll give him some credit – he's a decently smart guy. He might have even made it in without being a Darcy. At any rate, he became a total ass, refused to hang out with me in public, that sort of thing. So things were already fairly strained between us, when his sister came into the picture."

"Will has a sister?" Lizzy said with surprise. For some reason she had always thought of him as an only child.

"Yep. She's two years younger than him, but by the way he treats her, you'd think he was her dad. Her name is Georgianna, but I always called her Anna. Who names their kid Georgianna, anyway, in this day and age? Seriously? Leave it to the freaking Darcy's. Whatever, she and I had always been really close. I used to play with her almost as much as I did with Will when we were kids. But that summer before we went away to college, something changed. She was having a really hard time coping with the death of her parents – I mean she was so young, only 16 at the time. And Will of course had more important things to do – like making appearances at important people's parties, being your typical wealthy bastard, you know how it is – than comforting his little sister.

"So I stepped up. We spent nearly every waking moment together that summer, and I'm not gonna lie, Lizzy, I know I have a reputation around here as being somewhat of a ladies-man, but with Anna, it was different. I fell in love with her, and she loved me too. Or she said she did. Anyway, she was the only girl I cared about then. But I was so stupid; I should have known how Will would react. I guess I thought that there must be some good left in him – seeing as he was William Darcy's son – and that that tiny good part would be happy that his sister had fallen for his former best friend. But all he could think about was the fact that I was a bastard. A poor bastard, at that. When he found out about it, he made her swear never to see me again. This was the morning before we left for school. And that's when she showed her true colors. She had sworn nothing would ever take her away from me – we were gonna keep dating long distance when I went to school, but I planned to visit her every weekend – but when Will made her promise, she didn't hesitate. I thought she was different, but she's not. She's Darcy to the core. And there you have it. I haven't spoken to Anna since then, but I have to see her brother nearly every day, and I can never look at him without thinking of what he took from me."

Lizzy shook her head slowly. She was truly taken aback. She figured Will was a jerk, but she would have never guessed it was _this_ bad. To treat your best friend that way! Your adopted brother! She couldn't imagine it. He heart reached out for Wickham, and when he leaned over to kiss her that time, she didn't resist.


	6. Odds and Ends

**A/N: ** **Thanks everyone for the reviews...a special shout-out to Mary S, who seems to be my most devoted reader : ) I hope I don't let you down. I'm home from school for the summer now so updates should be more regular than they were, but still fairly sporadic because I work pretty much full time (blahhh). Anyway...tell me what you think!

* * *

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After Wickham related to Lizzy the atrocities of his past, she became even more attached to him. She really felt he was the most consistently fun, agreeable person she had ever known. Was it love? She wasn't sure, but she tried not to waste too much time stressing over the question. Despite all his attractions, in her heart she knew Wickham was not the type of guy it would be a good idea to seriously fall for.

"His heart was taken long ago by the rich Darcy slut," she would tell herself.

Since Wickham had told her of his lost love, she had begun to associate with his character a depth of feeling, of which she believed most of his friends were utterly ignorant. He had suffered so much, but had borne it with such strength; to look at him, one would never know the pain he had endured. And what pain! To be betrayed, forsaken, given up willingly and forever by the love of your life, for no better reason than your being the illegitimate son of a non-millionaire! She could understand how such a thing might have been a problem two hundred years ago, but really, this was the twenty-first century! She could scarcely imagine the agonies Wickham must have suffered, the agonies he still must suffer every day. For this reason she did not expect him to commit to any sort of exclusive relationship with her, and she did not complain when she saw him flirting with other girls. Jane, however, did not see the situation so clearly.

"He spent the night with another girl, and you're okay with that?" Jane asked her incredulously on the phone one night.

"Why shouldn't I be? It's not like I'm his girlfriend."

"Lizzy…I don't like this. You hang around with him all day, he's all you talk about, clearly you _like_ each other…why won't he commit? How can you be okay with the fact that he hasn't? It's not like you."

"Well, maybe I'm finally growing up. I'm learning not to be one of those paranoid clingy girlfriends who flips her shit if she sees her boyfriend talking to another girl. Look, Jane, don't worry about it. Wickham and I are just having fun. He can sleep with other girls if he wants, and I'm free to do what I like with other guys. This is how normal college relationships work," she said practically.

"Tell me honestly, have you slept with him?"

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Oh my God, that means you have!" cried Jane. "Lizzy, I can't believe you, have you _completely_ forgotten yourself? Who knows what he's doing with other girls! Did you use protection! Oh God, please tell me you used protection – "

"Jane…" Lizzy cut in. But Jane wasn't finished.

"I can't believe this. You're not even in a relationship with him! What happened to my little Lizzy? Scratch that, what happened to the grown up, responsible, practical girl that is my sister? The one who wouldn't even let Patrick Haseley _kiss_ her in the tenth grade until he swore that he wanted an exclusive relationship? What happened --"

"_Jane_ – "

"No!" Jane yelled, continuing her rant. "What happened to the Lizzy who swore so solemnly when she was eighteen that she would never sleep with anyone she didn't truly love? What happened to the Lizzy – "

"JANE! STOP IT! WE AREN'T HAVING SEX! WE NEVER HAVE!" Lizzy screamed.

Jane heaved a sigh of relief, which was inaudible to Lizzy over the shrieks of laughter issuing forth from her roommate Charlotte, who had heard, despite the fact that she had headphones on, Lizzy's passionate avowal.

"Look, Jane, I've gotta go," Lizzy said with some annoyance.

"Okay fine. Wait, before you go, you're coming to the Philips' barbecue next weekend, right?"

"Ugh," Lizzy groaned. "Yeah, I'll be there, unless I have the good fortune to drop dead between now and then."

"I wish you wouldn't always be so negative about family events, Lizzy," said Jane reproachfully. "I know Aunt Cindy can get on your nerves, but she has a big heart."

"I have nothing against her heart; it's her shrill voice and inane laughter that make me want to stab myself in the head whenever I spend more than ten minutes around her. Calm down, Jane, you know I'm exaggerating. Plus I'm pmsing in a violent way. Look, I'll be there, okay? Now can I please go? I'm gonna be late to work."

"Wait, one more thing. Are you going to bring Wickham?"

"I don't know, should I? Is it that kind of thing? I don't know if I want to subject him to our family just yet…we're getting along so well…"

"Well, I'm bringing Charles, and Lydia is begging Dad to let her bring her new boyfriend, and you know he'll give in eventually. Just something to think about."

"I'll think about it. I've really gotta run though."

"Okay, I love you Lizzy."

"Love you too – bye."

* * *

Wickham was not very keen on going to the barbecue. In fact he flat out refused.

"You know I'd go, babe, but it's really not my kind of thing. Family events and George Wickham don't mix. I'm not the type of guy you bring home to Mom. Plus, I'm not even your boyfriend…it would just be weird. Also I already committed to a power hour on that night with some of the girls from Alpha Chi."

Lizzy didn't press it – in fact she laughed it off. But in truth she was a little irritated. She had recently shelled out thirty bucks – roughly five hours of work at the coffee shop – for a Busch Gardens ticket, because Wickham had invited her to go with a group of his friends, when at the last minute the trip had been cancelled because some of the guys decided they'd rather go to a strip club. Lizzy had ended up dragging Charlotte to Busch Gardens so as not to waste her thirty dollars, and it had proceeded to rain all day, so nearly all the roller coasters were closed. Needless to say she had not been the happiest camper. And now Wickham didn't even have the decency to give up one night to her – free of charge – or to even formulate a reasonable excuse for it! Inwardly she was getting to be pretty pissed off, but she smiled casually, allowed him one peck on the lips, and headed off to her second job – editing student papers at the Writing Resource Center in the English department.

* * *

The rest of the week did not go much better. She got a B- on a paper she thought was the best she had ever written, and when she went to talk to the professor about it, he said her writing style was "prodding and dull." This cut straight to the core; if there was one thing Lizzy prided herself on, it was her writing ability. But when she read the paper over – it was an explication of Dylan Thomas' "Love in the Asylum" – she was forced to admit to herself that the professor was partly right. She had used the word "suggest" four times in as many sentences.

"And they pay me to edit other people's papers!" she thought to herself with mild alarm.

But this was not the worst of it. She decided to go running one afternoon, despite Charlotte's fervent pleas that she wouldn't, seeing as the sky was an eerie greenish gray and rumbles of thunder could already be heard in the distance.

"Char, I'm not afraid of a little rain. And I haven't been running in two days because I've been so busy with work and papers. So I'm going now. Deal with it."

"Lizzy…oh God, did you hear that? Did you?" Charlotte cried, alluding to a crash of thunder that had just shook the building. "This is not a friendly little rainstorm we're dealing with here; this is the wrath of God! Please just wait it out!"

"This is the only free time I have all day. If I wait any longer I won't be able to go at all – I have to be at work at 5:00. Look, if I'm not back in two hours, send out a search party."

And with that she left, ignoring Charlotte's grumbling. About five minutes into the run, large drops of rain began pelting her. She didn't mind though; running in the rain could be quite enjoyable, so long as it was warm out. It happened to be about 80 degrees on that day, so the cool shower was more than welcome. She turned her face up to the sky and drank in the fresh rain. There really was nothing like being caught in the middle of a heavy rainstorm – to race through the sheets of rain, letting the cool water soak deep into your skin – was anything so glorious? But when the soothing raindrops began to turn into rock hard chunks of ice, her mood quickly changed. The storm got to be so bad that she couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her. The worst of it was that she happened to be on an isolated path in the middle of a forest – there was nowhere to take shelter.

"This is just great," she muttered to herself, futilely trying to shield herself from the hail with her arm.

Suddenly she heard someone calling her. She turned around and could just make out the form of another person about three feet away.

"Come with me!" he cried, taking her arm and leading her away.

It wasn't like she had any alternatives. She took his hand and a few moments later found herself standing under a gazebo slightly off the path.

"Oh, it's you," her rescuer said in a tone that Lizzy felt suggested he was not overly pleased by the discovery.

He was Will Darcy. Lizzy rolled her eyes slightly.

"Don't worry," she said sarcastically as she reached her hands back to wring out some of the water in her hair. "I won't tell anyone about this. We wouldn't want your precious reputation to be spoiled by any rumors that you were hanging out with the lowly Elizabeth Bennet."

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind," she said.

They stood in awkward silence for a few minutes, Lizzy furious and humiliated by the fact that she had allowed herself to be rescued by Will Darcy. Soon Lizzy noticed that the hail had stopped, and decided to continue her run.

"Wait!" Will cried, for she was already running away. She turned around. "It's still pretty nasty out – are you sure you don't want to come back to the house with me? It's just right over that hill; you could hang out there until the storm is completely over."

"Thanks," she replied with an arch smile, "but I don't expect any favors from you. You've had your hour with me, and frankly, for me, that was more than enough time. Goodbye!"

And with that she left him. He watched her as she ran through the torrents of rain, and despite all his attempts to suppress it, he could not help himself from feeling strongly attracted to her. He could think a thousand reasons why she was the last person in the world he should like in that way. Firstly, she was Wickham's used goods. Although so was…but he wasn't going to think about _that_. Secondly, even if she hadn't been Wickham's used goods, his family would never approve of her. She was poor – probably had to take out half a dozen loans to afford her education – and she certainly didn't dress suitably. He knew these were rather petty criticisms, but, although he personally could overlook them (in fact, he admitted to himself, he rather liked the loose-fitting skirts and faded tank tops that she wore – he couldn't really imagine her wearing clothes from Abercrombie or J. Crew), his father would have been disapproved, and his Aunt…he almost burst out laughing when he imagined what her reaction to Elizabeth Bennet would be. Thirdly, she had been strangely rude to him during their last conversation. Despite this, he was confident that if he did decide to make his feelings known to her, when faced with the prospect of being Will Darcy's girlfriend, she would probably be able to overcome in an instant any feelings of hostility she harbored towards him – if indeed such feelings existed, which he rather doubted. Probably being hostile was just her way of flirting or something. But this was taking it rather far, wasn't it? Feeling irrationally attracted to a girl was one thing; making those feelings known and forming a relationship with her was quite another.

* * *

He was not surprised when Charles invited him to Jane Bennet's family's barbecue that weekend. He knew perfectly well it was a pity invite – the day of the barbecue happened to be the anniversary of his parents' death. Charles wanted to make sure Will would be kept busy during that day so he didn't become too depressed. The invitation was understandable; what surprised him was his acceptance of it.

"Sure, I'll go," he said, and then it occurred to him what he had just agreed to. He told himself his only motive in going was to keep busy, but he could not help suspecting within himself a slightly ulterior motive.


End file.
